The Easter Vigil Readings

The Easter Vigil, climax of the Liturgical Year, features an extended Liturgy of the Word. The choice of readings, six from the Hebrew Scriptures, one from the Greek Bible known as the Septuagint, and also an epistle and a gospel, are a high point of the Vigil. The Targum of Jonathan, in commenting on Exodus 12, speaks of the ‘four nights of salvation’: the night of Creation, the night of the promise to Abraham, the night of the Exodus from Egypt, and the night of the Messiah. These ‘nights’ have inspired the Liturgy of the Word at the Easter Vigil. After the singing of the Gloria two New Testament readings follow: from the letter of St Paul to the Romans, and from one of the Synoptic Gospels. The Johannine annunciation of the resurrection is kept for the Mass of Easter morning.

Fr Adrian Graffy presents a commentary on all the readings of the Vigil, and the accompanying Psalms. The text given is from the Revised New Jerusalem Bible, a revision which was produced by Dom Henry Wansbrough and published in 2019. In his commentary Fr Adrian will sometimes give his own translation of particular words.

This Liturgy of the Word at the Easter Vigil can often be neglected since it is accompanied by unique rites of immense importance. This commentary is offered to all who celebrate Easter so that they may derive from the readings the graces of the Word of God.